Technology that saves your life could also annoy you to death. Car dealers may soon have a system that lets them send advertising messages via the two-way voice and data telematics system in many new cars. One dealer testing the waters for Mercedes-Benz is Ewing Autohaus in Dallas. It uses Mercedes’ Tele Aid communications feature to tell owners, in their cars, that if they come in for maintenance, they’ll get a free car-cleaning kit, according to Automotive News. But Mercedes says the big brother scenario is far-fetched and is only, repeat only, a single-dealer test.
According to Automotive News, the Autohaus dealership is working on a pilot program with ATX Group, which provides the call center and dispatch services for Mercedes, before it rolls out to other dealers. BMW, Chrysler, GM, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz all have telematics packages with the potential to reach out to captive-audience customers. The pilot program is Mercedes-only.
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